A molecular dynamics study of the thermal properties of thorium oxide

There is growing interest in the exploitation of the thorium nuclear fuel cycle as an alternative to that of uranium. As part of a wider study of the suitability of thorium dioxide (thoria) as a nuclear fuel, we have used molecular dynamics to investigate the thermal expansion, oxygen diffusion, and heat capacity of pure thoria and uranium doped (1-10%) thoria between 1500K and 3600 K. Our results indicate that the thermal performance of the thoria matrix, even when doped with 10%U, is comparable to, and possibly better than, that of UO2

Theoretical investigation of the scope of sequential ligand tuning using a bifunctional scorpionate tris(1,2,4-triazolyl)borate-based architecture

The donor properties of a series of tripodal mixed N-donor/carbene ligands derived through sequential alkylation of hydrotris(1,2,4-triazolyl)borate have been investigated by density functional theory (DFT) methods. The structures of complexes of the form [Mo(L)(CO)3]- were optimized (L = [HB(1,2,4-triazolyl)n(1,2,4-triazol-5-ylidene)3-n]- (n = 0 – 3), hydrotris(pyrazolyl)borate, hydrotris(3,5-dimethylpyrazolyl)borate and hydrotris(imidazol-2-ylidene)borate) and nuCO frequencies for these complexes and partial charges of their Mo(CO)3 fragments were determined. Results show that ligand donation is highly tunable when compared to similar experimentally known ligands with a shift in the symmetric nuCO stretching mode of -39 cm -1 on going from the tris(1,2,4-triazolyl)borate complexes to that of the triscarbene hydrotris(1,2,4-triazol-5-ylidene) and an increase in partial charge (distributed multipole analysis) of the Mo(CO)3 fragment from -0.23 to -0.48

Detecting shadows and low-lying objects in indoor and outdoor scenes using homographies

Many computer vision applications apply background suppression techniques for the detection and segmentation of moving objects in a scene. While these algorithms tend to work well in controlled conditions they often fail when applied to unconstrained real-world environments. This paper describes a system that detects and removes erroneously segmented foreground regions that are close to a ground plane. These regions include shadows, changing background objects and other low-lying objects such as leaves and rubbish. The system uses a set-up of two or more cameras and requires no 3D reconstruction or depth analysis of the regions. Therefore, a strong camera calibration of the set-up is not necessary. A geometric constraint called a homography is exploited to determine if foreground points are on or above the ground plane. The system takes advantage of the fact that regions in images off the homography plane will not correspond after a homography transformation. Experimental results using real world scenes from a pedestrian tracking application illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach

Exploitation of siderophores for the speciation of iron

Iron is essential for life. It acts as an electron donor/acceptor in metabolic processes facilitated by its variable valency. Although vital, it is toxic at high levels due to Fe2+ oxidation. Iron toxicity is a concern as it can affect growth and product yields in animal cell culture. Siderophores are high affinity Fe3+ chelators produced by microorganisms. This affinity gives them the potential to be used as a basis in platforms to detect and speciate iron in industrial cell culture. Rhizobactin 1021 is of interest due to its decanoic acid “tail” that is not involved in chelation which makes it an ideal target for immobilisation

Comment on "Fisheries Management"

The recent article by O’Leary et al. (2011) raises an important question about the relationship between science and those who manage fisheries. They contend that fishery managers do not give due cognisance to scientific advice and consistently set Total Allowable Catches (TACs) above values advised by scientists (which they define as ‘‘political adjustment’’). The authors claim that the consequence of this is that there is a high probability of stock collapse in the next 40 years. They use a simulation model to argue that this probability may exceed 80% at the mean level of political adjustment adopted by managers, depending on the degree of environmental variability and life history strategy of the fish

Criticality Performed: Performative Learning Through Agonistic Interventions

The Art School can often be an anathema to teaching and learning. Its constraining modules, timetables and architectures often control the learning experience producing narrow subject foci, devoid of risk and failure. In this paper, we argue that pedagogical performance is key to the challenges of space (the school as a physical constraint) and time (the ticking clock of the module). Through a close reading of what Chantal Mouffe (2013) describes as a multiplicity of social spaces, where the students engage in practices that reveal new and novel ways of creating social relationships and sites of learning, we will interrogate how cross disciplinary practise across art and design delivers participatory experiences designed to scale from local to national to international contexts, examining performative pedagogy not as mimicry but performance as activation. The contribution of actor/theatre training to ‘disruptive’ teaching (in the age of ecological emergency)

The effect of moving on union dissolution

This paper examines the effect of migration and residential mobility on union dissolution among married and cohabiting couples. While there is a large, multi-disciplinary literature looking at the determinants of union dissolution in Europe and North America, the possible impact of geographical mobility has received little attention. This is despite the fact that moving is a stressful life event and that numerous studies suggest that women’s economic well-being and employment suffer from family moves which are usually stimulated by the man’s career. We base our longitudinal analysis on retrospective event-history data from Austria and apply hazard regression. Our results show that couples who move frequently have a significantly higher risk of union dissolution. We argue that frequent moving increases couple stress and union instability through a variety of mechanisms.Austria, dissolution of marriage, event history analysis, internal migration, residential mobility

Evidence synthesis on the occurrence, causes, consequences, prevention and management of bullying and harassment behaviours to inform decision making in the NHS

Background Workplace bullying is a persistent problem in the NHS with negative implications for individuals, teams, and organisations. Bullying is a complex phenomenon and there is a lack of evidence on the best approaches to manage the problem. Aims Research questions What is known about the occurrence, causes, consequences and management of bullying and inappropriate behaviour in the workplace? Objectives Summarise the reported prevalence of workplace bullying and inappropriate behaviour. Summarise the empirical evidence on the causes and consequences of workplace bullying and inappropriate behaviour. Describe any theoretical explanations of the causes and consequences of workplace bullying and inappropriate behaviour. Synthesise evidence on the preventative and management interventions that address workplace bullying interventions and inappropriate behaviour. Methods To fulfil a realist synthesis approach the study was designed across four interrelated component parts: Part 1: A narrative review of the prevalence, causes and consequences of workplace bullying Part 2: A systematic literature search and realist review of workplace bullying interventions Part 3: Consultation with international bullying experts and practitioners Part 4: Identification of case studies and examples of good practic

Androgen-independent events in penile development in humans and animals.

The common view on penile development is that it is androgen-dependent, based first and foremost on the fact that the genital tubercle forms a penis in males and a clitoris in females. However, critical examination of the complex processes involved in human penile development reveals that many individual steps in development of the genital tubercle are common to both males and females, and thus can be interpreted as androgen-independent. For certain developmental events this conclusion is bolstered by observations in androgen-insensitive patients and androgen receptor mutant mice. Events in genital tubercle development that are common to human males and females include: formation of (a) the genital tubercle, (b) the urethral plate, (c) the urethral groove, (d) the glans, (e) the prepuce and (f) the corporal body. For humans 6 of 13 individual developmental steps in penile development were interpreted as androgen-independent. For mice 5 of 11 individual developmental steps were found to be androgen-independent, which were verified through analysis of androgen-insensitive mutants. Observations from development of external genitalia of other species (moles and spotted hyena) provide further examples of androgen-independent events in penile development. These observations support the counter-intuitive idea that penile development involves both androgen-independent and androgen-dependent processes